Even more damning information surfaced on Sam Bulte, a dirty Canadian Member of Parliament who took funds from entertainment company and later introduced extreme copyright laws/
I've been blogging about the Canadian Liberal MP who has used American-style political hucksterism from US copyright industries to finance her campaign, and who has introduced numerous extreme copyright laws.
Now the Hollywood Reporter has reported on Bulte's influence peddling, prompting Toronto Star columnist Michael Geist to write a stirring piece on the inappropriateness of Bulte's campaign:
Yet the revelations of recent days suggest that we are not in a balanced debate searching for the policies that are best for all Canadians. Sam Bulte accepts thousands of dollars in contributions from the stronger copyright law lobby and brazenly holds a fundraiser for more money days before the election. The funders justify their contributions by noting that they needed to avoid the annual financing cap and that they balance the process by funding MPs from both parties.
Indeed this last point requires further discussion as the most striking revelation in the Hollywood Reporter article is that the "U.S. interests" (as they are appropriately described in the article) have hedged their bets by also funding Conservative Bev Oda (the Canadian Heritage critic) and James Rajotte. The Oda funding is noteworthy because it suggests that the leading candidates for the Minister of Canadian Heritage position from both the Liberals and Conservatives have accepted copyright lobby campaign contributions.
Link, Link to Digital-Copyright.ca's Wiki for Parkdale organisers, Link to campaign site for Peggy Nash, Bulte's NDP opponent
